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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24108610">Saving for a Rainy Day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/amythis/pseuds/amythis'>amythis</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Oz - L. Frank Baum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:48:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,223</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24108610</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/amythis/pseuds/amythis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years after <i>The Tin Woodman of Oz,</i> the Rainbow's Daughter visits the young man who's been waiting for her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Polychrome/Woot the Wanderer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Waiting for Rainbows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Woot gazed out the window of the little cabin in the Winkie Woods, the rain as always made him think of rainbows.  He'd seen many in his travels of the past five years, but never the Rainbow's Daughter.</p><p>Time moved strangely in Oz compared to what he'd heard of the Great Outside World.  The past, present, and future were not always clearly divided.  And then there was the matter of aging.</p><p>Some said that no one ever aged in Oz.  Others believed that you could advance your own age if so inclined.  Woot believed five years had passed since he said goodbye to Polychrome, and he knew he was much taller, his shoulders broader, with other changes that made those he met regard him as a man rather than a boy.</p><p>As for Polychrome, she was a fairy.  Even when Woot was a little boy growing up in the Gillikin Country, he heard that she was thousands of years old but eternally young and beautiful.</p><p>When he met her she was a bird, a pretty bird, but just a bird.  She had been transformed into a canary by Mrs. Yoop the giantess, as Mrs. Yoop had changed him into a green monkey.  Ironically, this helped the boy and girl get to know each other as people first, looks aside.  He quickly learned that Polly, as he called his new friend, was loyal, clever, brave, and kind.</p><p>After Princess Ozma restored them, and their companions the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, to themselves, Woot could see that the tales of Polychrome's beauty had not been exaggerated.  She was in his eyes as lovely as Ozma, but of a more approachable, less regal loveliness.  Her violet eyes shone with merriment and her long, unbound golden hair floated around her like a happy cloud.  Most enchanting of all, her lithe body could not keep still, always needing to dance.</p><p>It was this love of dance that got her into trouble, setting her apart from her many obedient sisters.  "Violet, Indigo, and the rest never leave the sky," she'd told Woot.  "But I love to dance down the arch of the bow and tap my toes upon the cold earth.  And then sometimes I get left behind."</p><p>This was how she had been captured by Mrs. Yoop, having fallen asleep after landing on land.  In Woot's case, it was due to the curiosity and thirst for adventure that he shared with the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow.  They had already gone through the Valley of the Loons, where Woot got his leg stabbed by the balloon-like people who tried to puncture him.  But the Scarecrow thought Yoop Castle would be safe because he'd seen Mr. Yoop behind bars and assumed the giant's home was empty.  They hadn't realized that Mr. Yoop had a wife, and she was not only nearly as large as he was but a powerful Yookoohoo.  Even fairies like Polychrome and Ozma couldn't easily break her spells.</p><p>The adventure had actually begun with Woot encouraging the Tin Woodman to seek out his old sweetheart and finally marry her, and then after more travels and travails, it turned out she was already married.</p><p>What Woot had not expected was to become infatuated himself.  He admired Polly immediately, more so after her restoration, but it honestly wasn't until she gave him his first kiss that he thought of her in that way.</p><p>She was about to leave on the rainbow and she shook hands with their friends, but she kissed Woot lightly upon his forehead.  She was taller then than he, but he was grown enough to not feel like a little boy being kissed by an aunt.</p><p>He'd thought of that kiss often in the years since, although he'd kissed and been kissed by other girls in his wanderings.  He wondered what it would be like to feel her soft lips lower than his forehead.</p><p>He knew a romance between them would be madness.  They came from different worlds, she the sky and he this beautiful but desert-locked land.  She was magical and he was only as extraordinary as the average Oz citizen.  She was exquisitely lovely and he was pleasant-looking.</p><p>He had regular features, brown eyes, and tousled black hair.  He dressed in the quaint Gillikin costume, from pointed, feathered hat to pointed, buckled shoes.  That rainy afternoon, he was wearing neither hat nor shoes, for he had no wandering in mind.  It was a good day to stay in and daydream.</p><p>This cabin was a gift from the Tin Woodman, who was in fact the Emperor of the Winkies.  Nick Chopper, as he was also known, did not mind the failure of the quest for an empress, because he was grateful for the closure to that mystery.  And anyway, the Wizard had given Nick a kind heart rather than a loving one, and the tin man was not really husband material.  </p><p>In his kindness, he thought that Woot should have a home to return from his journeys.  Since Woot's needs were simple, the cabin had only two rooms: the front room that served as parlor, dining room, and kitchen, while the back room was bedroom and bathroom in one.  The cabin stood in a clearing in the forest, with a stream trickling nearby, although its banks threatened to overflow in this heavy downpour.  Woot didn't mind the rain, because it was good for the bread-and-cheese trees in his garden.  And of course it revived thoughts of seeing Polly.</p><p>He had never confided his feelings in the kind and sentimental but unromantic emperor.  Instead, he had confessed to the wise and sympathetic Scarecrow.  The straw man had no heart, and yet he knew what love was.  A flirtation with the gaudy and giddy Patchwork Girl aside, it was clear that the great love of the Scarecrow's life was his old friend the Tin Woodman.  It was a romance more of the soul than of the body, because the two non-meat men were strangers to desires of the flesh.  They embraced warmly when they met and, since the days of their first travels with Dorothy, often cuddled as they talked softly all night while their human companions slept.  And yet, they had no longing for greater physical intimacy.  As the Scarecrow put it to Woot, "why would I want to rub my painted burlap mouth against metal?"</p><p>Still, the straw man understood that it was natural for Woot to want to touch and kiss Polychrome.  "She's a charming girl and you two became good chums before you parted.  Yes, she's literally above you, but there's no harm in having your head in the clouds as long as your dream girl doesn't blind you to what's here on Earth."</p><p>So Woot had let his lips and hands wander with obliging Ozettes, from willing Winkie women to giggling Gillikin girls, as well as merry Munchkin maidens and, once,  questing Quadling quadruplets.  Still, he remained polyamorous.</p><p>And every time it rained, he hoped for a rainbow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Parting Clouds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The trees in the clearing didn't part enough to let in much sunlight, but Polychrome begged, "Please, Papa, over to the left."</p><p>The King of the Rainbow tugged his long, cloud-gray beard and said, "Say, listen, who's steering this thing?"</p><p>She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.  "You are, Papa, but I'm the one who got directions."</p><p>"Well, I think I can find my way around a forest."</p><p>She nodded, let go, and raced to where she could peer down more easily through the parting clouds.  Yes, there was the little cottage that the Tin Woodman had described.  "Papa! Papa!"</p><p>"Yes, I see it.  Are you sure this is what you want, Girl?"</p><p>"Very sure."</p><p>"Then be off with you.  And let me know when you're ready to come home."</p><p>"Thank you, Papa." She gave him another swift embrace and then glided down the arc of the bow until her slippers touched the muddy ground of the clearing.   She did a dance of joyous farewell until the rainbow faded away.</p><p>Then she whirled around and saw Woot the Wanderer's stunned face staring out the only window.  She laughed merrily and waved at him.</p><p>Instead of waving back, he apparently raced to the door, because it was soon flung open.</p><p>"Polly, what are you doing here?"</p><p>"Woot, you've gotten so tall!"  She knew from her visit to the Tin Castle that Woot was a young man now, but it was still a shock to see it.</p><p>"You haven't changed," he breathed.</p><p>She wanted to tell him that just because her appearance never changed, it didn't mean she never changed on the inside.  Instead she danced over and gave him a brief hug, just long enough to be sure that he was now her height, or maybe an inch or two taller.</p><p>When she let go and backed away a little, she looked down and noticed his feet.  "Oh, Woot!" she gasped.  "You're standing barefoot in mud!"</p><p>He looked down and then up.  He rubbed the back of his neck, right below his dark, messy curls, a boyish gesture, although the hand and neck had the thickness of a man's.  "I guess I am."</p><p>She couldn't help laughing, but she laughed easily.  After a moment, he joined in.</p><p>"Come inside while I wash my feet."</p><p>She laughed again, picturing him washing up in front of her.</p><p>He blushed a little.  "I mean, please sit in my front room while I go to my tub."</p><p>That wasn't much better, but this time she just smiled and said, "All right."</p><p>She followed him in and pulled out one of the chairs from the table.  He didn't have a sofa.</p><p>"I'll be right back."</p><p>After he left the room, she looked around, noticing the small stove in the corner.  She had been in earth-dwellers' homes ranging from cottages smaller than this one to palaces, Ozma's being the grandest.  Even the humblest had more personal touches than Woot's dwelling.  There were no paintings or other artwork, not even an embroidered cushion.  She reminded herself that home didn't mean the same thing to a wanderer that it meant to most people.</p><p>It wasn't as if she had a proper home herself.  There were no rooms on the rainbow.  Then again, it wasn't as if her family needed to eat or sleep as much as the people of the earth needed.  Even sitting wasn't something she did much, so she had no chairs on her wandering home.</p><p>He came back in with wet and clean feet.  He took a chair opposite her, but there were only four chairs.  "So what's new, Polly?"</p><p>She smiled, maybe a little sadly for once, because, whatever changes she was going through on the inside, her outer life had little variety.  She told him of her travels of recent years, and he told her of his.  He had been all over Oz, to the very edges of the Deadly Desert, while she had gone beyond the magical Continent of Imagination, even into the Great Outside World, where Princess Dorothy and the Wizard came from.</p><p>"What is it like?" he asked eagerly, as if longed for not just Ev and Mo but the flat, gray land of Kansas.</p><p>"Sometimes beautiful, sometimes scary."  She would spare him details for now.</p><p>"Scary?  Do you mean ferocious beasts like the Hip-po-gy-raf?"</p><p>She couldn't help laughing at that.  "It was only ferocious towards straw!"  The strange animal had frightened and worried the Scarecrow, whose innards it craved, but everything turned out all right in the end, as it always did in Oz.  It was just sometimes, as with the Tin Woodman's search for Nimmee Amee, you didn't always get the happy ending you thought you wanted.</p><p>Woot didn't laugh or even smile.  He quietly asked, "How is it scary?"</p><p>She sighed.  She didn't like to dwell on the negative.  She knew that literally every cloud has a silver lining, and rainbows often follow rain.  But there were some things that didn't have a brighter side.  "They have wars," she said softly.  "And the armies aren't silly like the soldiers of Oogaboo.  The leaders can't be charmed and tricked like the Nome Kings.  And, unlike in Oz, people die."  She shut her eyes, trying to block out the images.</p><p>She felt a tentative hand on her thin, gauzy sleeve.  "I'm sorry you had to see that, Polly," he said gently.</p><p>She shook her head, eyes still shut.  "I could always go away on my rainbow, but the survivors couldn't escape. There was a 'great war' a few years ago, in many countries all over the world.   And people are still picking up the pieces, trying to figure out what life means when there is so much senseless death.  And after the war, came a horrible disease, killing thousands, maybe millions more."</p><p>"Please don't cry, Polly," he begged.  His voice, which was so much deeper than she remembered, now broke with anxiety and concern.</p><p>She hadn't been aware that tears were trickling out from her closed eyelids, like rain dripping down from leaves.  She opened her eyes and again saw Woot in the flesh, like and unlike she remembered.  She thought of a tin statue in the Emperor's garden, new as of three months ago, Woot as a full grown man, shiny and as yet untarnished.</p><p>He smiled a little and lightly stroked her sleeve.  "I've never seen you sit still for so long.  You usually have to dance after a few minutes."</p><p>She knew he wasn't ignoring the darkness that she'd hinted at.  He was reminding her that that there was always at least a promise of sunshine, even in the darkest times.</p><p>She got to her feet and spun in a circle.  Then she held out her hand.  "Dance with me, Woot."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Dancing Together</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She looked exactly the way he remembered, but she was changed.  He reminded himself that she could wander over boundaries he could never cross, see things he could never see.  This glowing girl knew darkness he could never imagine.  And yet, she could still dance.</p><p>Woot got to his feet.  He was of course not as graceful as she was, but he wasn't clumsy like the Scarecrow.  He knew how to dance in many Ozian styles.  He'd had many partners, some for one number, others for a whole night.  But never a girl like her.</p><p>He was about to take her in his arms when he remembered, "There's no music."</p><p>"I know you can whistle.  You're as good a whistler as the Shaggy Man."</p><p>He was grateful she hadn't compared him to Shaggy's appearance.  "I think I'll just hum."</p><p>She smiled and nodded, then held out her other hand.  He stepped closer and she put one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand.  His free hand lightly landed on her waist.</p><p>He began humming a jaunty time that let him twirl and spin her, which she seemed to enjoy, judging from her laughter.  It now occurred to him that he couldn't hum, or whistle, and talk at the same time.  Not that he would've known what to say anyway, with her cool, slender hand in his.</p><p>After awhile, she panted, "Can you please hum something less romping?  I need to catch my breath."</p><p>He hesitated and then hummed a slow, bittersweet tune he'd once heard a Munchkin fiddler play on a moonlit night.</p><p>She pressed against him and murmured, "That's more like it."</p><p>It took great effort to continue to carry a tune, even a wordless one.  He was more conscious than ever of her tall, slender body.  He tightened his hold on her, although he still gave her enough freedom to dance away from him if she was so moved.  He couldn't believe that the sky fairy was not only in his home but in his embrace.</p><p>"You have a nice voice," she said near his ear.  "Deeper now."</p><p>He hummed two syllables that meant both "Thank you" and "Uh huh," trying not to break the tune too much.</p><p>"And you dance well."</p><p>"Mm hm."</p><p>"I wonder if you kiss as well."</p><p>He stopped humming and dancing.  He just stood and stared.</p><p>She laughed.  "I suppose you can't really judge your own kissing, can you?"</p><p>"Polly," he whispered, "girls aren't supposed to say things like that so directly."</p><p>Still amused, she asked, "What are they supposed to say if they want a man to kiss them?"</p><p>"Well, they flirt about it until the man thinks it's his idea."</p><p>"That seems a bit dishonest."</p><p>How could tell her now that it was an idea he'd had for years, but never dared believe would come true?</p><p>She continued, "I would like to kiss you and I think, by your still holding me in your arms after the music stopped, that you would like to kiss me."</p><p>"Yes, I would," he said, starting to see the virtues of directness.</p><p>She tilted her head to the side, so he tilted his.  He wondered if she had ever kissed anyone before, but he didn't want to ask and spoil the moment.  On the one hand, she was ridiculously older than he was, and on the other, she hardly slept or ate, so maybe her other physical needs were minor as well.</p><p>Their lips touched lightly, as lightly as hers had touched his cheek five years before.  He could just barely feel the warmth of her mouth, like a hint of sunshine on a mostly cloudy day.  He didn't know if she wanted a real kiss.  He felt a little like a flower she was sipping morning dew from, which was not unpleasant.</p><p>He was just about to end the kiss and thank her politely, when her pink tongue darted out from her red lips.  He felt her lick his lips and assumed he should return the favor.</p><p>But before he could, she moved her head away and said, "It's been a century since I've kissed anyone on the lips, but isn't this a little one-sided?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Kissing and Touching</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Polychrome was not vain, but she wasn't used to rejection.  She was used to men's admiration, but she seldom returned it.  She had thought Woot was interested in her, but he'd given her such a mild, innocent, little kiss.  Was he just being polite?  Perhaps he didn't care for kissing, or girls.  Or maybe he had a sweetheart.  Or she simply wasn't his type.</p><p>"I didn't want to presume anything, and I've found it's best to let the girl take the lead.  In kissing I mean, not dancing."</p><p>"So you have before?  Kissed that is, not danced."</p><p>He blushed.  "A few times."</p><p>"Would you like to kiss me a few times?"</p><p>He nodded and moved his head back to hers.  This time his tongue greeted hers when she licked his full lips.  When the tips touched, she felt a little jolt go through her, like mild static electricity, or a gentle lightning bolt.  He must've felt it, too, because he froze for a moment and then widened his mouth.</p><p>Her tongue plunged in, dancing inside his mouth.  After awhile, his tongue sidled up to hers, just brushing lightly, as if asking to have this dance.  Her tongue couldn't nod or curtsey, so it brushed back, not quite so lightly.  Their tongues played and flirted, until they were dancing, closer and closer.</p><p>And their bodies moved closer together.  His was as warm and welcoming, as real and solid, as the earth.  Well, the earth had quakes and tremors, and Woot was shaking a little.</p><p>He suddenly pulled away, not just his head from hers, but his body from hers.  He asked in a rasping tone, "Polychrome, why are you here?"</p><p>The use of her full name startled her, when all her chums called her Polly.  "Do you want me to be direct?"</p><p>He hesitated and then said, "Yes, please."</p><p>"I'm not like Nimmie Amee."</p><p>He blinked.  "Polly, that is not in the slightest bit direct."</p><p>She smiled a little and then sighed.  "Maybe this isn't something I can just blurt out."</p><p>"Then let's sit down again and you can take your time telling me."</p><p>She nodded and then sank back onto the chair she'd taken before.  Once he was seated, too, this time in the chair closest to hers, she said, "Nick's sweetheart didn't mind his body being replaced by tin, bit by bit."</p><p>He nodded a bit impatiently, since that was a story he knew as well as she did.  "Nor did she mind it when Captain Fyter became tin as well."</p><p>Polychrome didn't think about this part as often, but after Nick Chopper missed their wedding day (unknown to his fiancée, the Woodman had rusted in a downpour), Nimmie had been very upset to be left at the altar by the man she loved.  And then a handsome soldier came along and wooed her.  Nimmie had thought she'd never fall in love again, but she was more wrong than she knew.</p><p>Unfortunately, Nimmie was the servant of the Wicked Witch of the East, who did not want to lose her.  The possessive witch had enchanted Chopper's axe to chop him.  This being Oz, he hadn't died but instead got the help of Nimmie and his friend Ku-Klip the tinsmith.  And now that Nimmie had a new beau, the witch enchanted his sword.  So it was more trips to the tinsmith, until Fyter rusted, too.</p><p>"She didn't mind her sweethearts' flesh gradually turning to metal.  She thought of the bright side, that she wouldn't have to cook or sew for a tin husband, and her cleaning would be far less than it was for the witch.  She didn't seem to care that kissing and touching tin couldn't have been as pleasant as kissing and touching skin."</p><p>Woot cleared his throat.  "Of course we only have the tin twins' version of things.  I don't get the impression Nick misses kissing or any of that."  He blushed a little again.  "And Fyter is much the same.  So they wouldn't think much about whether Nimmie missed that side of things.  And even if they did, they might not want to talk about it to a young lady and an adolescent boy."</p><p>She nodded.  "You have a point, and maybe she felt the sort of love for each of them in turn where, even if she missed the physical side, she found their company pleasanter than that of the witch."</p><p>He chuckled.  "Indeed.  But don't forget, years after both tin men stood her up, she married Chopfyt, whose demeanor was far from pleasant."</p><p>Ku-Klip had saved the body scraps of his two mutilated friends in a barrel and then fashioned a new man out of some of their leftovers.  Despite his mashup name and being, Chopfyt did not know his true origin, his brain not even recalling the captain's previous life.  When Nimmie met him, however, near the home she'd found at the foot of Mount Munch, long after the witch's death, he of course reminded her of both sweethearts, especially Fyter's head.</p><p>Polychrome murmured, "In the end, she married a man with soft, warm lips to kiss."</p><p>Woot teased, "And how do you know what Chopfyt's lips are like?"</p><p>Now she blushed a little.  "Well, they'd have to be softer and warmer than tin."</p><p>"What did you mean by you're not like Nimmie Amee?"</p><p>"Well, my point has been changed since I'd forgotten about Chopfyt.  But I saw your statue in the emperor's garden."</p><p>Woot groaned in dismay.  "He told me months ago he was having that commissioned.  Is it as awful as I imagine?"</p><p>She smiled in amusement.  "No, it's very flattering."</p><p>He grimaced.  "At least I didn't have to pose for it.  Dorothy told me she was quite surprised when she first saw her younger, sunbonneted self in tin."</p><p>Polychrome remembered that, as well as Dorothy's dog Toto's amused derision at his own metallic likeness.  "It is a little unnerving," she admitted.  "But your statue is tall and handsome."</p><p>"So, better than the real thing?"</p><p>"No, not better.  But it made me curious about the real thing."</p><p>"About kissing and touching me?"</p><p>"Yes." And more, but she was not quite bold enough yet to tell him that.</p><p>He smiled and leaned forward.  He stroked her hair and gave her a tender kiss.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Offering</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Woot wanted to tell her that he'd been more than curious about kissing and touching her (and maybe more) for more than a few months, but it was more urgent to kiss and touch her.  He was of course very flattered that the object of his infatuation should be attracted to him, but he didn't want to assume more than what she told him.  And he felt they'd talked enough for the moment.</p><p>He loved kissing her, not just the sweet taste of her mouth, but the playfulness of her spirit.  She made kissing into a dance of mouths, and he was eager to match her step for step.</p><p>And her golden cloud of hair was soft and fluffy, making him aware of the roughness of his hands, although she didn't seem to mind.</p><p>"That feels nice," she said when they paused from the kissing.</p><p>"Your hair is so soft," he murmured.  "And your skin."  He gently caressed her face.</p><p>"I like that, too," she said laying her hand upon his cheek.</p><p>Then the kissing began again.  This time, she played with his curls as he stroked her blonde waves.  He loved kissing her but he wondered how long they would just sit there and kiss.  Was she planning to stay the night, or would she just get her fill of kissing him and then be on her way?  He wasn't used to being the one who could be wandered from.</p><p>After awhile, she took his other hand and kissed the back of it.  "Woot, I want to ask you something."</p><p>"Anything, Polly," he said, hoping he could match her directness.</p><p>She smiled a little.  "Woot, have you taken a lover yet?"</p><p>He felt himself blush deeply.  That was certainly direct.  "Well, I've kissed and touched girls, but I've never lain with one.  At least not in the ultimate act of love."</p><p>"Why not?"</p><p>"Well, I suppose because I never met a girl I cared for enough to share it with.  And I seldom stay anywhere long enough to get to know any girl very well."</p><p>He knew from talking to him that the Shaggy Man felt differently.  Shaggy found a surprising number of obliging women, whether or not he was carrying the Love Magnet.  They weren't frightened off by his unruly hair and long beard, nor by his ragged clothing.  They found his earthiness charming, and these were women who weren't looking for any sort of permanent or even long-lasting connection.  Woot would've thought the older man was boasting had he not seen the flirtation with his own eyes, not to mention the morning that Shaggy stumbled out of a Quadling divorcée's bedroom.</p><p>Woot tried to keep things light, but he got some offers, which he politely turned down.  One Munchkin miss had pertly inquired, "What are you saving yourself for, Wooty?"</p><p>He replied, "A rainy day."</p><p>Was he waiting for the Rainbow's Daughter?  Yes and no.  He wanted to be with her, but never had a girl been so seemingly unattainable.  He had treasured the fantasy of her, while recognizing he might someday have to let it go.  Either he would meet a girl who could displace her in his heart or Polly would return and he would see that she could never return his interest.</p><p>That was not at all what was happening here.  She now nodded and said, "I've never taken a lover either, although I've had a few offers in my time."</p><p>He was sure that many men had wanted her over the centuries, millennia, but probably few had been foolhardy enough to ask.  Or maybe they hadn't been ordinary men at all.  He knew that there were male fairies, Polychrome's father being one.  Yet Polly presumably had not been tempted by males of her background either.</p><p>"Is it that you're not interested in that or them?" Woot asked, feeling bold even in his vagueness.</p><p>She smiled sweetly.  "Well, I've always been curious about it of course, but like you, I'm a wanderer.  I could never settle down to a home and husband."</p><p>He couldn't imagine that anymore than he could imagine settling down himself.  Even living alone in this cottage was sometimes more than he could stand, and he had to be free to wander at will.</p><p>"My oldest sister, Rose, is Papa's heir and so she had to marry, but her husband, Rubyn, lives on the bow with us."</p><p>Woot wondered what that was like for Rubyn, and whether he was mortal or fairy.</p><p>"I've never met a man I want to spend centuries or millennia with."</p><p>"That would be a long commitment."</p><p>She laughed.  "Indeed.  At the same time, I've never wanted to share my body with a man I hardly know.  It would have to be someone I feel comfortable with and trust.  And of course I would need to desire him."</p><p>Woot shyly whispered, "Do you desire me?"</p><p>She squeezed his hand.  "Indeed I do.  Do you desire me?"</p><p>For answer, he kissed her neck, ran his free hand lightly down the bodice of her gown, and whispered, "Very much!"</p><p>"Oh, Woot!" she sighed.</p><p>"I want to take you to bed," he murmured in her ear.</p><p>"Well, that would be more comfortable than chairs."</p><p>He chuckled and shook his head.  Still holding hands, they got to their feet and he led her into the only other room he owned.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Going to Bed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Woot's bedroom was as simple as his front room, although here at least there was a small painting of their mutual friends, the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman.  The two non-meat men were smiling with their arms across each other's shoulders, the tin castle in the background.  Polly realized that Woot seemed to have no remembrances of the family and friends he'd left behind in the Gillikin Country years ago.  He'd once told her, "I had home and friends, but they were so quiet and happy and comfortable that I found them dismally stupid."</p><p>She had laughed and said, "Well, I am happy and comfortable, as long as I'm not transformed against my will, but I am not very quiet, so I hope you don't find me too dismal or stupid."</p><p>He'd gazed at her admiringly and said, "You could never be either, Dear Polly."  Because he was just a boy at the time, she didn't react as if a man had said such words to her.  Woot had been too young for wooing then.</p><p>"I live very simply," he said now.  His tone was both humble and proud, unashamed of his simple needs.</p><p>She nodded, seeing that the furniture in this room consisted simply of a bathtub, a wardrobe, and a bed.  And that bed was simple, too, just a mattress and a frame, not even a headboard.</p><p>He was sitting at the foot of it as she looked around.  She sat down next to him, slipped off her slippers, and kissed his cheek.  "Well, then."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>The odd thing was, neither of them seemed to be nervous, although they were about to take a big step.  Not that they were taking it lightly either, but at this point they seemed more curious than anything else.</p><p>They kissed softly, again stroking each other's face.  She felt no sense of urgency, but this was something she'd waited for an extremely long time.</p><p>He was a young man of the earth.  It would've been understandable if he felt impatient.  True, he was an Ozite and so not like other mortals, but Woot acted as if there was nothing else he'd rather be doing just then.  Of course, it wasn't as if he had a job or any other commitments, but then neither did she.</p><p>Their kissing and touching escalated gradually now that they had a definite destination.  They shifted back to tongue-kissing for awhile, and then she kissed his neck and he kissed hers.</p><p>After awhile, he whispered in her ear, "Polly, may I touch your bosom now?"</p><p>He was so polite and respectful, and yet interested, she knew she had chosen well.  She nodded against his face and said, "My gown fastens at the back of my neck."  It wasn't until she saw him blush a little that she realized, "Oh, you meant over my gown."</p><p>"Yes, but whichever you prefer."</p><p>She shifted so that her back was to him.</p><p>"Well then," he said.</p><p>"Yes," she replied.</p><p>She could feel him untying the bows that fastened the back of her gown and slowly peeling the fabric down.  Then he kissed the back of her neck and slid both his hands into her gown and embraced her around the bosom.</p><p>"Oh, Woot!" she sighed happily.</p><p>"You're so soft and lovely," he murmured in her ear as he caressed her bosom.</p><p>"Thank you, Woot," she said as calmly as she could, although her breath was getting a little faster.</p><p>Then she shifted again so that their tongues could dance together as his hands danced all over her bosom.</p><p>She arched her back and let the top of her gown fall further, so that she was nude to the waist.</p><p>"Oh, Polly!" Woot sighed and then himself shifted so that he could kiss her bosom.  His kisses and licks made her tingle.  She was disappointed when he stopped after a couple minutes, but then he said, "Let's lie down."</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Braving the Elements</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Woot gazed down with amazement, fondness, and cautious desire at the beauty before him.  Polychrome's long blonde hair spread out from his only pillow and formed a golden web upon the mattress.  Her exquisitely lovely face beamed like the sun.  Yet it was her pale pink bosom that kept drawing his eye.  It was not the first bosom he'd seen or even the first that his lips had touched, but it was Polly's bosom.</p><p>He soon went from gazing to caressing.  And then he used her bosom as a pillow to pay it proper tribute.</p><p>"Darling Woot," she sighed, stroking his hair, but when he began to again caress her breasts with his tongue, she cried his name and tangled her hands in his curls.</p><p>He had to suck upon her bosom, his mouth needing her sweet softness, his mind wanting to bring her greater pleasure.  In time, her body began to dance upon his bed, an increasingly wild dance.</p><p>He cautiously slid one hand under her skirt and she gasped, "Oh, yes!"  So he caressed her long, smooth legs all the way up to where they forked, making her dance upon his hand.  She wasn't wearing any undergarments, so he was touching her directly in the place he'd most longed to be but thought he would only ever imagine.</p><p>He continued to seriously play with her, but he moved back up the bed so he could see her face again.  Thus he was able to watch her expression as she reached climax.  She looked even lovelier in her wildness.</p><p>She kissed his cheek softly afterwards, murmuring, "Thank you, Woot."</p><p>"Any time, Polly," he said, removing his hand before it cramped up.</p><p>She smiled mischievously and said, "Now it's your turn."  She first peeled off his purple jacket and then his blue waistcoat.  Then she teased his lips with her tongue as she untied his green tie and played with the buttons of his collared white shirt.</p><p>"You land people wear so many layers," she marveled when she got to his undershirt.</p><p>"We're further from the sun," he whispered, enjoying being undressed.</p><p>She laughed.  "Well, I'll have to keep you from freezing."</p><p>"I feel warmer already," he said, nuzzling her neck.</p><p>Soon they pressed their bare chests together and kissed deeply.  And she wrapped one leg around him, as if wanting to feel his growing hardness against her skirts.</p><p>They danced together lying on their sides for awhile, and then she gently pushed him onto his back.  She unfastened his trousers and tugged them off, so that he was just in his red briefs.</p><p>"You were wearing all the colors of Oz," she observed.</p><p>"Maybe I was hoping for a rainbow sort of day."</p><p>She laughed and blushed, the yellow of her hair hiding some of the pinkening skin.  And then she eased down his briefs and put a knee on either side of him, while still wearing her gown from the waist down.  This girl who was a blend of shy and bold.</p><p>She put her hand under her skirts and teased herself and him, playing with his hardness. </p><p>"Ready, Woot?"</p><p>"As ready as I'll ever be.  And you?"</p><p>For answer, she sank down around him so that her softness surrounded his hardness.  And Woot the Wanderer suddenly felt as if he'd come home.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>....</p>
</div><p>Woot filled her as wonderfully as she'd hoped.  He made the perfect earth to her sky, connected by a Gillikin-colored arc, like an upside-down rainbow.  Her multi-hued skirts modestly covered their point of union and her hair was like a waterfall brushing against his body as she danced upon him.</p><p>He stroked her hair and her swiveling hips, smiling up at her and sometimes gasping in pleasure.  After awhile, he squeezed her bosom until she brought it down to his mouth.  Then he pleasured her bosom as he joined her dance, until she called his name desperately.</p><p>After her climax subsided, she lay upon him, from head to toe, but she did not yet rest.  Their entire bodies danced, especially their mouths and loins.  It was a wild and yet playful dance where they made up the steps as they went along.  Sometimes they'd laugh and sometimes they moaned.  Sometimes one or the other, or both, would slow down, only to speed up again.</p><p>Until he danced very quickly inside her and she urged him on, pulsing together like their hearts beating against each other.</p><p>After his climax subsided, she rested upon him, kissing his face gently.</p><p>He lay motionless except for the arm stroking her back.  Then he asked, "Are you staying for dinner?"</p><p>She laughed of course but then admitted, "I'd like to stay all night if I may."</p><p>He grinned.  "Of course.  But do you want anything to eat?"</p><p>"What are you having?"</p><p>"Just some bread and cheese.  I'm too tired to cook."</p><p>"I'll have a bit of that," she said, rolling off of him.  "With water."</p><p>He nodded.  "I collect rainwater through a spout that leads into the front room, so there should be plenty."</p><p>"I like rainwater, I mean to drink."</p><p>He smiled, kissed her cheek, and said, "I know."  He got out of bed and left the room.</p><p>She waited until he closed the door behind him before she leapt up and did a dance of joy and magic.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Soaking It In</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Woot returned to the bedroom with the bread, cheese, and water, he was very surprised to see Polly soaking in his tub.  She looked a bit like a mermaid, with her long, wavy, blonde hair, although she was definitely all woman from the waist down.</p><p>She smiled up at him and said, "I did a spell to cleanse the tub of mud and then filled it with fresh water from the stream nearby."  She said it as if it were a simple task, which it probably was for her.</p><p>He nodded, distracted by her long, shapely legs.  Then he asked, "May I share your bath?"</p><p>"Won't the bread get wet?"</p><p>"I'll try to be careful."</p><p>He came over and handed her the food, although he kept the water glass as he stepped into the wooden tub.  He sank down into the water of the tub and then she cuddled up against him.</p><p>They ate, drank, laughed, kissed, touched, and talked, but they did not yet bathe.  One thing they talked about was what they had enjoyed most in bed, which led to more kissing and touching.  And once they finished dinner, they made love in the water.</p><p>Afterwards, as she rested her back against his front, he couldn't help sighing, "I love you, Polly."</p><p>She was silent for a minute, and he regretted telling her, despite their intention to be honest and direct with each other.  Who was he to dare to love a beautiful fairy, or to wish she might love him back?</p><p>Then she stroked his hand and said, "I love you, Darling Woot, but you know I can't stay here forever."</p><p>"No, of course not.  But it's not as if I stay in this cottage year round."</p><p>"I don't just mean your home or in Oz.  I mean on Earth."</p><p>"I understand.  You need your bow more than a beau," he punned, trying to cover up his feelings again.</p><p>"I wish I could have both," she admitted.</p><p>"Well, you're welcome to come visit me any time."</p><p>"Thank you," she said, but then stood up, her magnificent back to him.</p><p>He was about to offer her a towel, when she began dancing.  It seemed to be a dance of longing and frustration, as well as a method to dry off.  He watched with his own longing and frustration, but also admiration and gratitude for the time they did get to spend together.</p><p>When she was done, she slipped between his covers.  He got out of the tub, feeling very pruny by then, grabbed a towel, dried off, and slipped in next to her.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>....</p>
</div><p>Polychrome awoke in the middle of the night, her head on Woot's shoulder as she'd insisted he take the only pillow.  She was going to miss his warmth and solidity, but she knew she would soon miss her life in the sky.  If only she could have both.</p><p>Then it struck her that maybe she could.  </p><p>She kissed her chum half awake until he grumbled, "Polly, I need my rest."</p><p>"I just thought you might want to know I thought of a way we can be together."</p><p>Now wide awake, he demanded, "How?"</p><p>"You could live on the rainbow."</p><p>He laughed until he seemed to realize she wasn't joking.  "Sweetheart, I'm not a fairy and I can't walk on air."</p><p>"Oh, there are spells for that."</p><p>"Oh.  Are you proposing marriage?"</p><p>"No, we're both too young."  This time she joined in his laughter.  Then she more seriously said, "Perhaps marriage may come in time, but for now we could travel the world together, as long as you like."
</p><p>They talked about it for an hour and then slept restlessly.  In the morning, they made love, bathed in fresh water, and dressed.  He made scrambled eggs on toast and she told him again how, with the fairy powers she retained while a canary, she had served that dish to the jaguar who wished to eat the green monkey who had disappeared into the earth.  And Woot retold his story of how he was then facing dragons, which he escaped by making another hole with Mrs. Yoop's magic apron.</p><p>And when a rainbow appeared in the clearing, Polychrome took Woot the Wanderer by the hand and led him up the arch.</p>
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